intermediate slope, begin to breathe the pure air of 

 the heathery moorland ; but here, where you might 

 think all would be free as the winds, you are met by a 

 gaitered individual, armed with wand of office, in the 

 shape of a double-barrelled gun, carried loosely under his 

 arm, who proclaims by his presence, if not by his words, 

 that you are treading on forbidden ground. But no one 

 arrests your feet, and no legal threatening disturbs your 

 mind, in the leafy lane. You can walk leisurely through 

 it in undisturbed meditation, or calmly study nature on 

 the right hand and on the left. Even a philosopher might 

 find its comparative seclusion and peaceful surroundings 

 favourable for the solution of abstruse problems, and the 

 settlement of disputed points, religious, political, and 

 social. 



It has been my good fortune to be located near a quiet 

 lane, which for some years has been my habitual resort. 

 It is a hard, well-formed, level road, of a mile or so in 

 length, trending nearly north and south, and forming a 

 connecting link between two other lanes. Parallel with it, 

 but two fields-breadth distant, runs another road, which, 

 for reasons I need not name, now absorbs nearly the whole 

 traffic of the district, and leaves my lane almost altogether 

 unfrequented by passengers, either riding or afoot. Half-way 

 between the two, flows a willow-fringed river of some size, 

 whose soothing murmurs, like some subdued melody, I often 

 hear in my solitary walks. At no great distance, on every 

 hand, agreeably wooded hills rise to a gentle elevation ; 

 while in one direction may be seen the tip of one of the 

 lake mountains, peering over into our happy vale, as if not 

 satisfied with the rich beauties that lie at its own feet. 

 The fields on either side of the lane are cultivated, and 



